CCI  Press Release

 Pray for the summer – 12th & 13th June 2010

The weekend of 12th and 13th June sees the annual prayer focus for summer camps, holidays and festivals throughout the UK. In excess of 50,000 young people will attend a residential holiday over the summer months with many more than this figure attending one of 30 Christian Festivals to be held in either July or August.

With football fever hitting England the sports camps are looking at receiving record numbers of applicants. But the range of activities available to children has never been wider. With outdoor activities such as canoeing and climbing on offer as well as art, drama and community service camps being popular.

Lorimer Gray, Chairman of CCI, says; “As we enter the main summer months it is so exciting to be able to pray for the thousands of young lives being impacted for the Gospel. This annual initiative will help the church in the UK to focus in on their young people and their friends who will be attending holidays and festivals. I hope you will feel able to join with us to pray for a special harvest this year. “  

Materials are available on the website to download and use in church services at:  www.prayforthesummer.co.uk .

CCI  Press Release

Nothing ventured…by Tim Gill

A new publication is now available from the English Outdoor Council website which aims to do some myth busting! 6 myths relating to outdoor education provision in the UK are tackled head on and draw from a range of supporting studies. The author Tim Gill writes convincingly about why activities are safe, the importance of training young people in risk awareness not risk aversion and introduces the concept of risk benefit analysis. The publication is endorsed by the Chair of the HSE and the CE of ROSPA. You would think these were two unlikely supporters but they agree that risk when controlled sensibly is of great benefit.

Use this document to combat those that think outdoor activities are dangerous and don’t achieve much. Each CCI member that is involved in this area of interest will be sent a free copy with their June issue of Getaway. In the meantime it is available as a free download at: http://www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/Nothing-Ventured.pdf

Pray for the Summer 2010

The summer of 2010 is going to be exciting:  A general election, a world cup and more importantly 50,000 young people around the UK going on a Christian camp or residential.

CCI, the national association of Christian organisations and individuals involved in residential holidays, camps, conference and outdoor centre ministries believe this is so important that they are encouraging everyone to Pray for the Summer on the weekend of 12-13th June.

It’s simple really; everyone prays for the events happening across the country and ask God to continue to use them to change young peoples’ lives. Specifically, CCI hope that the Pray for the Summer campaign will:

• encourage individuals and groups to pray for the work going on this summer. There are loads of great stories out there, like the young lad who committed his life to Christ whilst hiding from bullies under his bed.
• inform Christians about the scope and scale of residential youth work so that they can become active partners in the ministry through: prayer, giving or joining a team.
CCI believe that it is important that those ministries serving young people are supported and that the nations unites to pray for safety, a great time, deep lasting spiritual growth at the different events taking place, and for all the leaders involved, many of whom will be volunteers. If you think you can help by giving your time to a ministry this summer, go to www.cci.org.uk and see where you could help.

Guidance

If you would like to get involved with Pray for the Summer, please go to www.prayforthesummer.co.uk and download the prayer pack. In it you will find more information on Pray for the Summer and CCI as well as tips on how to run a prayer session in different ways.

The prayer pack also contains a news item to put on your church’s bulletin board, and we’d encourage you to do this and spread the word! If you’d like to buy promotional posters or coasters, they are available online at www.cci.org.uk/shop.

If you think you church would be interested in joining Pray for the Summer as a congregation, you can download the PowerPoint presentation on the pray for the summer website. This has in depth prayer points for a range of subjects that could be used for corporate prayer in a service on Sunday 13th June or could be split and handed to home groups to pray through a specific issue.

For more information on Pray for the Summer please email Jim Hammett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call him on 01908 641641, or write to him at the following address: CCI, 2 Leon House, Queensway, Bletchley, Bucks MK2 2SS.

Supporting ministry to millions

90 CCI members from across the UK met at Pioneer Centre in Shropshire as CCI held their 2010 Centre Managers and Outdoor Directors’ conference this week.

Keynote speaker, Rob Whittaker, Principal of Capernwray Bible College, taught extensively from 2nd Timothy on what qualifies us to minister and be able to share our faith effectively with others. Drawing from Paul’s letter, he encouraged delegates not to be ‘ashamed of the gospel’, and reminded them of the importance of remembering key truths about God’s love for us so that we can help others and allow them to help us.

Chief Executive of Adventure activity group, Rock UK, Mark Heasman, said: “My second CCI conference was a superb use of 3 days. The teaching [from Rob Whittaker] was challenging, stimulating and encouraging and the opportunity to mix with other leaders in the sector was second to none. The input on a whole variety of practical issues was well paced and balanced and has given me a valuable and timely contribution to my own thinking as we develop our exciting plans in Rock UK.”

Bob Telfer deputy head of inspection at the AALS (Adventure Activities Licensing Service) and David Saint, Chairman of Action Planning, were just two of the experts brought in to run workshops on topics including risk in the outdoor world, fundraising for capital projects and sharing a personal faith.

Delegates were treated to a magical evening of entertainment brought by Christian illusionist, Steve Price. Steve amazed people with up-close tricks and mind-boggling illusions, and was able to show how he shares his faith through his act.

One delegate said: “I came for the first time with high expectations, and I can honestly say they have been exceeded.”

CCI Chief Executive, Jim Hammett said: “Many managers come to these annual conferences tired from a year of ministry and serving and this conference has inspired them to continue to reach out to the one million people who stay at their venues every year. The sector continues to grow with new centres being built and the opportunity to reach out to more than a three hundred thousand school children during term time is a vital part of the ministry to this nation.”

ENDS

Notes to editor:
 CCI is an association of Christian organisations and individuals involved in residential holidays, camps, conference and outdoor centre ministries. It seeks to equip its members to more effectively accomplish the unique work to which God has called them. CCI promotes the benefit of the Christian residential experience and provides the public with associated services and resources.
 Photos available on request now
 Further information from: CCI, 2 Leon House, Queensway, Bletchley, Bucks MK2 2SS. Tel: 01908-641641 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it